Minneapolis Institute of Arts FIGS. 13a&b (above and left): Kono altar, boli, and three-dimensional image reconstructed from CT scans that reveals the object’s contents and construction. Bamana, Mali. Mid-20th century. Wood, soil, animal blood, cloth, unidentified materials. H: 42.5 cm. The John R. Van Derlip Fund, MIA 2012.65. CT image © 2012 Dr. Marc Ghysels, Brussels. 81 their power and confirming their command. This includes royal art from Benin City, such as a curved ivory tusk, a brass memorial head, the aforementioned leopard vessel, and a plaque representing two Portuguese traders, which is on loan from Chicago’s Field Museum. “Communing with the Spirit World” shows the prevalence of relations between this world and the Otherworld in African art, drawing from funeral practices, divination, initiatory associations, and spirit venerations to illustrate invocations of the invisible. A Mami Wata figure of the Nigerian Igbo people is a striking reminder of the worldwide movement of images, practices, and beliefs (fig. 11).9 While performance and movement are central to the entire reinstallation, the section “Performing Dance and Music” brings them to the fore by focusing on masks—including a voluminous Yoruba Egungun costume—and musical instruments (fig. 10). “Expressing Identity” examines FIG. 12 (right): Toni Malau (Saint Anthony). Kongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Late 18th–early 19th century. Ivory. H: 26 cm. Gift of funds from the MIA Docents in honor of Sheila McGuire, MIA 2012.6. wearable objects used, as they are throughout the world, to convey information about age, social status, marital status, and the like. These range from an ancient Egyptian funerary collar to black-and-white photographs by Seydou Keita from the 1950s that herald new urban identities. Finally, the objects assembled in the “Connecting with World Religions” section relate the intercultural exchange of religious ideas and art forms, including ifa divination equipment from the Americas, a Qur’anic writing board from West Africa, and an ivory Saint Anthony (Toni Malau) figure from the Kongo people (fig. 12). It is here that the concept of “African Art in Motion” is most forcefully illustrated. The amount of didactic information visible in the galleries is deliberately restrained: Labels are discretely placed on walls and platforms, but none are inside cases with the art, and they are generally kept short. Visitors who would like to dig deeper can avail themselves of digital resources developed by TDX (The Digital Experience), a new museum-wide initiative incorporating team members from various departments. TDX Africa is its first incarnation and addresses the challenge common to encyclopedic museums to revitalize and contextualize culturally distant objects for broad audiences. The new African art galleries are a laboratory for innovative interpretative approaches using cutting-edge technology, inviting visitors to interact with a large (82 inches/ 204 cm.) touchscreen map and digital tablets filled with
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